Filed under: Cult of Mac, iPhone
Seeing iPhone in non-carrier countries? We want photos!
Some critics scoff at the notion that as many as 30% of all iPhones are being used in countries without an official carrier agreement. Just from our own reader comments/reports (and dim-witted criminals) we have no problem with the plausibility of those figures. One thing is for certain, plenty of people outside the officially contracted countries have and are using iPhones. And we want pictures!Reader Jim wrote to us with this suggestion, and we think it's just great. So, here's the deal - if you live in a country where the iPhone is not officially available (or you are visiting one of those countries) and you spot someone using an iPhone, take a picture. If you are a non-carrier iPhone owner yourself, we want your pictures too! We would like to see shots that at least somewhat indicative of their geographical location -- just so we can answer any of the nay-sayers who try to claim the photos are fake.
Send your pictures to photos AT tuaw.com and we'll post up a gallery of the submissions. I think it will be interesting to see how many places the iPhone has traveled, even without an official contract.
Thanks Jim!
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 9)
k0en said 2:15PM on 1-25-2008
This isn't gonna show anything - iphones can be used roaming internationally
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Michelle said 2:27AM on 3-28-2008
I am currently working in Kabul, Afghanistan and I saw an Afghan using an iPhone just last week. I couldn't help but stare. I originally bought mine in the US and used AT&T, but that doesn't really work here. I'm trying to figure out how to unlock my phone so that I can use it in Kabul and in the States.
theboyk. said 2:22PM on 1-25-2008
Well, I don't have any photos, but I can tell you from my personal experience alone there are MANY iPhones in Canada — well, Toronto, Canada anyway. I see 'em every day. And just within the company I work for doing Mac-based software/hardware/network support, I've already started "unofficially" supporting iPhones (setting them up on our wireless networks, setting up email on them, etc.).
They're everywhere.
k.
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tsecam said 9:13PM on 1-25-2008
Yeah, I live in Toronto too. My friends made a road trip down to Buffalo to buy them together. 6 of my close friends have them. I see about one per day that doesn't belong to my friends. Today it was in line for Sweeny Todd.
dj-kenpo said 11:04AM on 1-27-2008
mike? that you? if not, 'k'. you have a clone doing the same thing in the same sort of atmosphere. 6 or so iphones over at my work here in toronto
Magnus said 2:25PM on 1-25-2008
1/3 of my co-workers here in Norway got iPhones.. thats about 10 people. I know more people who got an iPhone than any other phone.
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cylonite said 2:26PM on 1-25-2008
THREE of my friends have it. We are in Kerala, in the Southern most part of India. I will buy mine after the SDK comes out. All are jailbroken 1.1.1's unlocked with AnySim. Brought here from friends in the US. Phone is available in the markets here but costs 1.5 times the US price. The reason why i shouted 3 is because this part of India is not known for its technological forwardness :p I can only imagine the numbers in major metros.
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rener said 2:27PM on 1-25-2008
Last weekend I went by a Best Buy in Quebec, Canada. There were about 5 people using iPhones in the store (local Quebec people running them on Rogers).
I went over the Future Shop and counted 3 more.
At the mall, there was a cell accessory kiosk with iPhone cases well stocked. Guy said he did good business with them.
And this was in the suburbs, not even down town.
After the holidays, at least 2 people at work were trying to figure out how to unlock the iPhones they or their relatives bought in the US.
They're by no means as common as the freebie phones, but they're certainly out there.
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Dave Wood said 2:34PM on 1-25-2008
I'm in Newmarket, north of Toronto, and I've personally setup more than 10 people (my dad, girlfriend, friends, friends girlfriends and coworkers) with iPhones. I can't wait for it to be offically supported so that I'll no longer be hounded with requests to get them working for people.
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Nicco said 2:35PM on 1-25-2008
i'm italian and i'm waiting thath apple give us officialy the iphone but i know more than 5 people that had the iphone yet and i heard of a lot of people that have got it...
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Miranda Kali said 2:36PM on 1-25-2008
Over at iLounge they have about sixty pics of iPhones in other countries. Some are definitely tourists, (cripes, I think a dozen or so were Jeremy Horowitz's vacation photos's..), but still..
There's a rather fetching one of one in Spain with a blatantly modded springboard..
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Jakob said 2:39PM on 1-25-2008
There are many iPhones in Denmark, I know. With translated menus, dictonary etc. I'll try to send some photos.
Some big stores bought some iPhones from UK or France unlocked and sold them through their 100 stores around Denmark and the web. But I think the major part is from people who has "hacked" it.
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ron said 4:02PM on 1-25-2008
@Jakob said...
really? i live in Copenhagen..i didn't see one! which stores?
Jakob said 4:11PM on 1-25-2008
Hi,
The TK stores (Telekæden), but I think they took them back, because otherwise Apple Denmark would sue them (: They sold them for about €666 unlocked.
Search on iPhone at newz.dk.
Gabriel Gomez-Iglesias said 2:40PM on 1-25-2008
I know many of my cousins in Panama are sporting it, and it's all the rage. Panama loves the iPhone
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bingo said 2:40PM on 1-25-2008
Moscow is full of them. Rich people there.
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Ali said 2:41PM on 1-25-2008
I am from Iran and here you can spot one almost on the most mobile phone shops but the price is so high its near 900 USD.
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Luke H. said 2:41PM on 1-25-2008
I live in Mozambique, Africa and I've even seen an iPhone here. They really travel everywhere. Wow :D
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ryos said 2:43PM on 1-25-2008
I'm not gonna ask for a dorky picture, but My dad's located in China (Canton area) and he has one. His town has shady stores selling unlocked+jailbroken iPhones. These shops even diligently follow up on things like updating customers' iPhones when new firmware updates come out (for free!). They are also willing to help customers with miscellaneous iPhone issues (also for free!). You just need to walk in. That actually sounds almost better than getting an iPhone in the US, except theirs is a bit more expensive and firmware updates aren't guaranteed.
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Andres said 2:44PM on 1-25-2008
I have one of my own (fw 1.1.1) and three of my friends have it too, all nicely working at local cell networks here in Estonia. So, iPhone is really widespread gadget.
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